Duplicating



March 14, 1961 D. A. NEWMAN 2,974,585

DUPLICATING Filed July 7, 1958 J2 r 4 M I I I I 1 17/749 2 VII/1111114:

v & 3 12 j INVENTOR. Z0 12 Dog alas AJVew rra/z DUPLICATING Douglas A. Newman, Glen Cove, N.Y., assignor to Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Company, Inc., Glen Cove, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 7, 1958, Ser. No. 746,964

Claims. (Cl. 101-=-l49.4)

This invention relates to the art of making duplicate or facsimile copies from prepared masters, and more particularly to facilitating the making of such masters.

In making masters for spirit and other duplicating work, it is frequently desired to have, in addition to a descriptive text which can be produced directly on the master by a suitable transfer element or by means of a typewriter ribbon, pictorial or other illustrative material blocked into the text or otherwise appearing on the master. Heretofore this was so difiicult to accomplish as to discourage to a considerable extent the use of pietorial illustrations in duplicating work. One of the difficulties was that the illustrations had to be applied by hand, and few people have the necessary artistic ability to make freehand drawings. The alternative was to at tempt to trace through an original, when that was possible, onto a master using a transfer element between the original and the master, but this too was difficult because it required considerable skill to properly position and register the picture closely with the corresponding text, etc.

An object of the present invention is to facilitate the making of masters containing pictorial or other matter for the production of duplicate copies, and this whether the master is to be of the direct or mirror reverse type.

This is accomplished in the present invention by providing a transfer element which has a transpicuous body and a transpicuous transferable coating thereon which may be superposed on a transpicuous master so that when the master, an original to be copied and a transfer sheet are assembled with the original on the bottom, the position of the portion of the original to be copied may be seen through the master sheet and through the transfer sheet as well as through the coating on the transfer sheet.

When the sheets are thus superposed, it is a comparatively simple matter to apply pressure as by a stylus to the upper surface of the top sheet and trace the portions of the original desired to be reproduced, the transfer coating being therebytransferred to the master sheet. Where a master is to be used for spirit duplicating processes, the master sheet is the top sheet of the assembly to provide the usual mirror reverse image on its under side in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Likewise when the master is to be used for the gelatine or similar duplicating process, the transfer sheet is the top sheet of the assembly.

It is preferable that the tracing surface of the inscribed member have a roughened or frosted finish so that the image being traced can be readily seen if traced thereon with a pencil or pen. Furthermore it is also preferable that the master sheet have a similarly roughened or frosted surface which is to receive the transfer material from the transfer sheet and retain the image thereon. However, the frosting or roughening should not render the sheets non-transpicuous.

An advantageous feature of this invention is that tracing matter from an original may be done without defacing the original and also that tracing may be made 2 of an original which may be so rigid or thick that localized pressure could not be transmitted therethrough.

According to the present invention, the transferable coating on the transpicuous transfer member may be of van'ous kinds. It may contain color forming material when the master is to be used in spirit or other duplicating processes. For example, the transpicuous transfer coating may contain one component of a diazo dye which is substantially colorless and therefore transpicuous as is shown in the Klimkowski et al. US. Patent No. 2,748,024, issued May 29, 1956.

Still other transpicuous transfer coatings containing a substantially colorless leuco dye can be utilized in this process. Furthermore, a coating, containing an adhesive such as a wax which although not adhesive at ordinary temperatures but when contacted with a hectograph transfer sheet and subjected to heat, will function to pick off the dye forming transfer material in conformance with the underlying image. Or, thetransfer coating may comprise a substantially colorless one of a pair of complementary color forming materials which in the uncombined state are transparent as is described in the Newman et al. US. patent application Serial No. 472,772, filed December 2, 1954, now US. Patent No. 2,872,863, issued February 10, 1959, for a hectograph duplicatingprocess.

In practice, according to the present invention, the transpicuous master and the transpicuous transfer sheet may be united as a'composite assembly in the formof two sheets separably joined at an edge so as to remain in register with each other with the transpicuous transfer coating facing the image receiving surface of the master sheet. This assembly may then as a unit be superposed upon an original bearing the image of which a facsimile copy is to be obtained on the printing surface of the master sheet by means of a stylus, pen, pencil, etc. tracing of the'original.

Advantageously the transpicuous transfer sheet and transpicuous master sheet may be formed of solid film material, preferably flexible material, so that these sheets may be inserted in a typewriter either before or after the original has been traced to have the text inscribed thereon. i

The master sheet, the transfer sheet and the coating on the latter need not be transparent in the ordinary sense when viewed separately. In fact, as so viewed, the sheets may appear translucent. However, according to the 7 present invention it is merely necessary that When the sheets are in face-to-face contact an underlying image on an original may be seen and traced therethrough. It is then that the sheets are transpicuous.

Other features, objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear, and embodiments more particularly facilitating the making of such masters will be described and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, such embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic and sectional viewshowing an arrangement of parts for use in the practice of this invention.

Fig. 2 isa sectional view of the hectograph master produced as a result of the inscribing process of this arrangement, showing the transfer sheet separate from the master sheet.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of rangement of the sheets for image.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing in plan the transfer sheet and the master sheet of the present invention superposed upon an original.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a transpicuous transfer sheet 10 with its attached transfer layer 11 overlying a transpicuous master sheet 12. The original the parts showing the arproducing a mirror reverse direct image, i.e. one that can be read, and may be transferred to a gelatine plate for use in making copies from the gelatine plate in the manner well known to those skilled in the art.

If, however, a spirit type of copy reproducing process is to be used to make duplicate copies, then a mirror reverse image is transferred to the master from the transfer sheet. This is accomplished as shown in Fig. 3 by placing the master 12 on top of transfer sheet with the transfer layer adjacent the master and the transfer sheet 10 immediately overlying the original 1.3. The mirror reverse image then produced by tracing through the assembly by inscribing upon surface 22 of master sheet 12 can be used in the spirit process in the manner well known to those skilled in the art.

Preferably the inscribing surface such as 22, Fig. 3, and the surface 20, Fig. 1, is of such a nature, i.e. frosted or otherwise, that the image being traced can be more readily seen on its surface if traced with a pencil or pen.

Heretofore it has been difficult to form an image on a master by such printing means as a typewriter and then to trace an original onto a desired area to produce a facsimile of an original such as a pictorial image. Because, according to the present invention, the transfer sheet 10 and its coating 11 and the master sheet 12 are especially transpicuous, anyone With average ability can prepare such typed masters together with illustrative material traced from an original on the same master sheet. This is effected without necessitating undue artistic talent on the part of the person tracing or inscribing on such prepared media.

The transpicuous transfer composition may be applied to the back of the transpicuous pressure transfer sheet by conventional solvent-coating methods, namely brushing, rolling, knife coating, etc. This transpicuous coating composition is of a type which is relatively translucent or at least of such translucency or transparency in visible light that an original image is readily discernible therethrough. Therefore such inert materials as clay or pigment, and such other filler materials as are usually present to improve coating properties, are either totally absent or are present as mere traces only.

Parchment, variously treated transpicuous papers, glassine, vinyl films, polyethylene terephthalate, cellulosic films, namely cellophane, cellulose acetate and ethyl cellulose films as well as polyvinylidene chloride film may be used as the transpicuous supporting base sheet mate.- rial for the novel tracing assembly of this invention.

The transfer composition may be of a type Which contains one or more complementary color formers which are transpicuous.

To reproduce copies with the master prepared in the above manner with a transfer sheet having one or more color forming bodies, by utilizing conventional hectograph spirit duplicating machines, the copy sheets may be wetted by a fountain solution containing a complementary color former. Or correspondingly active reagents may be used which will react mutually with the chemical reagents present in or on either the master or copy sheet to produce appropriate color on the copy sheet. The copy sheet wetted with the particular fountain fluid is then contacted with the imaged portion of the master sheet to dissolve a portion of the imaged reagent which adheres to the copy sheet. An instantaneous development of the image then occurs on the copy sheet due to the presence of moisture, etc. supplied from the fountain fluid and/ or coating on the copy sheet. If an iron salt such as ferric chloride is used as one reagent toreact with a complementary copresent gallic acid color producer, a blue-black 4 image will be reproduced which with age will become blacker.

In the broader aspects of this invention the transferable coating on the transfer sheet need not contain a color former as such. Instead, the transfer coating may contain an adhesive such as a wax which is not adhesive at ordinary temperatures but which when transferred to the master sheet may be heated so that when the heated and adhesive image is brought into engagement with a dye-carrying or color-forming coating on a hectograph transfer sheet the coating on the latter will be picked-oil by the adhesive coating, thus forming on the master a duplicating image. Instead of applying the master with the adhesive image onto a hectograph carbon sheet, the adhesive image may be dusted with powders containing dyes or dye formers to produce the duplicating image.

The transferable coating preferably is of the type which is substantially entirely released from the sheet and transferred to the master on impact or pressure.

It is to be understood that various waxy and oleaginous materials well known in the art may be used in the trans fer coating provided they are .transpicuous. Thus the transferable coating materials may encompass such substances as paraffin wax, carnauba wax, spermaceti wax, beeswax, polyethylene glycol, as 'well as numerous other higher alcohol types of solid Waxes, and resins having the appropriate and desirable properties well known to those versed in the art.

It will be apparent from the description that a duplicating master prepared in accordance with this invention is capable of immediate use for the reproduction of copies corresponding exactly to that of the original. In view of the simplicity of the method coupled with the low cost of materials and the failure to impair or otherwise injure the original, the prepared master may be discarded if desired since others may as easily be prepared from the original.

It will be apparent from the description that this invention provides a new method for preparing duplicating masters with a marking instrument directly from an original andproduces a traced image which becomes immediately visible to determine the conformance with the original and to observe the completeness of the tracing.

It should be understood that a pictorial illustration made on a master sheet by the transfer sheet of this invention may be partially traced and partially drawn freehand, or in some cases drawn entirely freehand. In any case, because of the transpicuity of the transfer sheet the inscriber can easily place the inscribed matter in exactly the desired position.

The expression transpicuous as used herein and in the appended claims when describing the sheets comprising the composite unit, is intended to include coated or uncoated sheets which enable one to see through them in a relatively clear, discernible image form the underlying image on an original, when the original has the sheets superimposed thereon in close or substantially contiguous contact therewith.

It will be understood that numerous changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and operation without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A composite assembly of pressure-responsive sheet elements for tracing an image from an original sheet bearing said image, comprising a flexible master sheet and a flexible transfer sheet having a latent image forming coating which is transferable to the master sheet upon typing impact and inscribing pressure, said master sheet and transfer sheet and said coating being transpicuous when in surface contact with each other with the transfer sheet and the master sheet superposed whereby in addition to typed images formed thereon an image may be formed on the master sheet by tracing over an image on the original sheet visible through said master sheet, said transfer sheet and the transfer coating thereon.

2. A composite assembly of pressure-responsive sheet elements for tracing an image from an original sheet bearing said image, comprising a master sheet and a transfer-sheet having a pressure-transferable latent image forming coating, said master sheet and transfer sheet and said coating being transpicuous when in surface contact with each other with the transfer sheet and the master sheet superposed whereby an image maybe formed on the master sheet by tracing over an image which is on the original sheet and visible through said master sheet, said transfer sheet and the transfer coating thereon.

3. Acomposite assembly of pressure-responsive sheet elements for tracing an image from. an original sheet bearing said image, a flexible master sheet and a flexible transfer sheet having a coating which is transferable to the master sheet upon typing impact and inscribing pressure, said master sheet and transfer sheet and said coating including a substantially colorless color former and being transpicuous when in surface contact with each other with the transfer sheet and the master sheet superposed whereby in addition to typed images formed thereon an image may be formed on the master sheet by tracing over an image on the originalsheet visible through said master sheet, said transfer sheet and the transfer coating thereon. 4. A composite assembly according to claim 2 wherein the'master sheet is a solid film.

5. A composite assembly according to claim 2 wherein the master sheet is a solid film having its pressure-receiving surface frosted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,350 Pfaflenzeller July 3, 1894 1,651,011 Adams Nov. 29, 1927 2,095,075 Neidich Oct. 5, 1937 2,144,130 Wagner Jan. 17, 1939 2,254,483 Hess Sept. 2, 1941 2,318,096 Quick May 4, 1943 2,501,495 Carroll Mar. 21, 1950 2,611,313 Keller Sept. 23, 1952 2,646,367 Davis July 21, 1953 2,653,110 Zimmerman Sept. 22, 1953 2,748,024 Klimkowski et al. May 29, 1956 2,810,227 Richards Oct. 22, 1957 2,872,863 Newman et al Feb. 10, 1959 

